Books, sites explain mysteries of consumer behavior

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When it comes to the "science" of consumer behavior, everyone is an expert. After all, we all are consumers I shop, therefore I am. We attain our credentials because each of us believes we have universal good taste and that any item we think is cute should be a million-seller just because we have one at home. If you don't believe this, just look at the number of gift shops that open (and close) each year.|ret||ret||tab|

Of course the marketplace is made up of more than one buyer, each with his or her own definition of taste. Why else could a single pair of shoes elicit both of the following responses: "These are drop-dead gorgeous, I must have a pair!" and "Who on earth would wear hideous footwear like that?"|ret||ret||tab|

As businesspeople, it behooves us to try and understand the diverse conditions that control the marketplace and shape consumer behavior so we can build a better pair of shoes. Here are a few books and Web sites available at the Spring-field-Greene County Library that can help you become an "expert" too.|ret||ret||tab|

Books @ the library|ret||ret||tab|

"The Myth of Excellence: Why Great Companies Never Try to Be the Best at Everything," by Fred Crawford, 658.834 C, identifies the components of every commercial transaction as price, product, access, experience and service.|ret||ret||tab|

The authors suggest a strategy of dominating in one of these components, differentiating on a second, and being at in-dustry par on the remaining three. Case studies demonstrate the appeal that this strategy has for the average consumer.|ret||ret||tab|

"Why We Buy: The Science of Shop-ping," by Paco Underhill, 658.834 U, de-lineates what we do and don't do in stores, restaurants and showrooms. The author, described as a "retail anthropologist," leads the reader into shopping hea-ven and hell in this often disconcerting mirror of who we really are.|ret||ret||tab|

"Squandering Aimlessly: My Adven-tures in the American Marketplace," by David Brancaccio, 332.024 B, reveals a great deal about American attitudes toward money at the century's dawn. The reader will be challenged by practical and philosophical issues such as the similarity between the stock market and a Las Vegas casino and the concept of charity as an investment.|ret||ret||tab|

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Pertinent Web Sites|ret||ret||tab|

research.aarp.org/consume/d16907_behavior_1.html This AARP-commissioned survey looks at the experiences of consumers in various age groups as they navigate and manage the marketplace. Issues dealt with include vulnerability, knowledge, fraud and dissatisfaction.|ret||ret||tab|

www.consumerpsychologist.com/ This site, built around consumer behavior and marketing, has been developed by a professor in a graduate school of management. Learn about category killers, monochronic cultures, inactive problems, influencers and much more.|ret||ret||tab|

www.udel.edu/alex-Chapt6.html This distillation of a marketing course lets the reader in on the four types of consumer buying behavior, as well as the factors that affect the consumer's decision-making process. Did you know that the average supermarket shopper is exposed to 17,000 products in a half-hour shopping visit?|ret||ret||tab|

www.judydiamond.com/gold02-01.html Did you know that 40 percent of readers are attracted to articles primarily by an offbeat headline? Read this article and follow the sidebar links to other articles to find out why.|ret||ret||tab|

(Mike DePue is the business librarian at the Library Center, 4653 S. Campbell.)[[In-content Ad]]